Using service-learning projects as an integral part of alternative K-12 education
Abstract
Alternative, Community, and Correctional Education Schools and Services (ACCESS), a division of the Orange County Department of Education, uses service-learning projects as a way to enhance curriculum, learning, academic achievement, and social development while also addressing the needs of a diverse student community. ACCESS students engage in a variety of innovative service-learning activities that contribute to the health of their communities, and in turn discover their potential, develop their character, and maximize their learning. Educational consultant Michael Stark submitted this effective practice in August, 2003 as part of a project for CalServe.
Issue
Service-learning projects help meet the special and diverse needs of students in alternative and correctional schools &edash; as well as students who are home schooled, and those who are homeless.
Action
Students of Alternative, Community, and Correctional Education Schools and Services (ACCESS) engage in a variety of innovative service-learning projects that contribute to the health of their neighborhoods and cities and, in turn, empower the students to discover their potential, develop their character, and maximize their learning so they may become successful contributors to society.
- ACCESS teachers link service-learning activities to a specific course of study and identify the specific content standards that relate to the service-learning projects.
- The teachers and student(s) identify the service-learning activity that will be implemented.
- Each project has some related student activity that must be completed (one or more of the following): writing, reading, questions, exercises, tests, Internet research, projects, group activities, or oral presentations.
- The course ends with an evaluation of the assigned activity/work.
Context
ACCESS serves 16,921 students at more than 140 sites throughout Orange County. Two-thirds of the students are a special and diverse population, often referred to ACCESS by local school districts, social services, probation, and incarceration facilities. ACCESS students include those who are home schooled as well as those who are homeless.
Mini-grant opportunities are extended to ACCESS teachers at least once each year to engage them in initiating service-learning activities. Service-learning projects are implemented in community school classrooms as well as through ACCESS home schooling programs.
ACCESS curriculum is aligned with the California State framework. In order to institute best practices and ensure that all parts of the federal definition of service-learning are addressed, a rubric (provided in the course outline) is used as the basis of the service-learning design and project evaluation.
Through the CalServe Initiative, the California Department of Education has been supporting a Statewide Regional Service-Learning Network and district wide school-community partnerships that annually involve over 120,000 students and approximately 15,000 community volunteers in urban, rural and suburban communities throughout the state. It is the California Department of Education's vision that by the year 2004, 50 percent of all districts will include service-learning as part of their regular instructional practice, engaging students in at least one service-learning experience at each grade span (K-5, 6-8, and 9-12).
Outcome
In 2004-05, ACCESS' major accomplishments included:
- A $10,000 A+ for Energy Award from BP America, Inc.
- Supplemental project grants from Disney and State Farm (Disney grant application was written by ACCESS students)
- Recognition for projects from local members of Congress, the State Legislature, and County Board of Supervisors
- Media coverage of students' work appearing in several local newspapers
- Growth of the Service-Learning Advisory Board to include new youth, teachers, nonprofit and private sector members
- Expansion of service-learning training to all new ACCESS teachers.
Incorporating service-learning into school curriculum helps students:
- Become more active members of the community
- Learn critical thinking and problem solving skills
- Increase their knowledge and understanding of the community
- Increase their participation in school
- Build stronger relationships between the school and surrounding community
- Improve achievement in core academic courses
- Meet community needs
- Develop altruism and caring for others
Posted On
July 14, 2006For More Information
Resources
See: Standards and Indicators for Effective Service-Learning Practice, National Service-Learning Clearinghouse K-12 Fact Sheet.
Source Documents
ACCESS - Division of Orange County Department of EducationAlternative Education Options for Youth and Adults in Orange CountyCalifornia Department of Education - CalServe Partnership ProgramsNational Center for Education Statistics - Service-Learning and Community Service in K-12 Public SchoolsRelated Practices
Related sites
California Department of Education - Service-Learning
National Youth Leadership Council - We Know Kids Like It, But Does It Work?
National Youth Leadership Council - Options for Infusing Service into the School Program
National Youth Leadership Council - Youth F.E.L.L.O.W.S. Project Curriculum Sourcebook